Hydraulic propeller by compound reaction



April 29, 1969 V HYDRAULIC PROPELLER BY COMPOUND REACTION Sheet Filed Aug. 23, 1967 LN A INVENTOR. Fux LE VS April 29, 1969 F. LEVY 3,441,088

HYDRAULIC PROPELLER BY COMPOUND REACTION Filed Aug. 25, 1,967 Sheet 2 of 4 I I l INVENTOR. FEL m L 6 V y April 29, 1969 LEVY 3,441,088

HYDRAULIC PROPELLER BY COMPOUND REACTION Filed Aug. 23. 1967 Sheet 3 of 4 I N VENTOR.

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H fro (NE/4' April 29, 1969 F. LEVY 3,441,088 HYDRAULIC PROPELLER BY COMPOUND REACTION 7 Filed Aug. 23, 1967 Sheet 4 of 4 INVENTOR.

FL X I Arman/5Y5 United States Patent US. Cl. 170-156 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A propeller for liquid and gasiform streams for the propulsion of aerial, terrestrial or seafaring vehicles and for the propulsion of fluids comprising a rotor enclosing helical blades of a pitch gradually increasing towards the rear. Said blades may project forwardly of the rotor and at their rear their action is enhanced by stationary blades rigid with the casing in which the rotor revolves.

Nautical machines are conventionally controlled by power-driven propellers of which the yield is generally low, and a large fraction of the expenditure of energy is dissipated.

My invention has now for its object a novel arrangement adapted to replace the conventional propellers used for progression in water or air by a rotor and stator system of a novel design adapted to produce a higher thrust for a same power available on the power-driven shaft.

In the accompanying drawings illustrated by way of example the general arrangement of an apparatus according to the invention:

FIG. 1 is an axial cross-section of the propeller which is assumed to be secured underneath the ship carrying the rotor-driving engine,

FIG. 2 is a front view, and

FIG. 3 a transverse cross-section of the propeller alone,

FIG. 4 illustrates diagrammatically the arrangement of a propeller provided with two coupled rotors,

FIG. 5 illustrates a modification of the means controlling the rotor,

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 illustrate in axial secional view different shapes which may be given to the terminal sections of the rotor blades and to the stationary righting blades, associated with means controlling the axial position of the rotor,

FIGS. 9 to 12 illustrate a propeller adapted to move in air or in a gasiform fluid, respectively in axial sectional view, end view and transverse sectional view.

The main member of the propeller is constituted by a rotor 1 made of metal or of molded plastics. It includes a cylinder 2 enclosing a helical member 3 rigid with said cylinder and provided with at least two helical blades 4 and 5 wound round the geometrical axis ab of the rotor and the pitch of which increases gradually between the input or suction end a and the output or delivery end b. By way of example, said pitch may rise from a value equal to three rotor diameters at a up to six diameters at b.

The cross-section of the blade is given a special shape illustrated in FIG. 3, said blades exerting when the cylinder and blades revolve in the direction of the arrow 6 a centrifugal action near the rotor axis in the direction of the arrow 7 and a centripetal action at the periphery along the direction of the arrow 8.

The rotor 2, which is carried by the ball thrusts 9 and 10 is carried inside a casing 11 provided at its front end 12 with a cylindrical water input 13 the inner "ice diameter of which is equal to the inner diameter of the rotor, said casing being furthermore provided at its rear end with a water output 14 also of the same diameter. Said water output carries inwardly helical blades 15 similar to the blades carried inside the rotor 2 or diiferent therefrom; in the case illustrated, these blades 15 are stationary and their pitch is opposed to that of the rotor blades. Said stationary blades have a double purpose: on the one hand they return the stream of water passing out of the rotor into parallelism with the axis of said rotor after said stream has been driven into rotation at a high speed round said axis by the rotor blades and consequently said stream returns into the outer mass of water with a minimum eddying and consequently with a minimum loss of energy.

On the other hand said righting of the water stream exerts on the rear surface of the blades a thrust which is directed forwardly in parallelism with the axis of the rotor, which corresponds to a further propelling action.

The propeller is furthermore provided with conventional arrangements of any suitable type, whether electric or mechanical, with a view to driving the rotor and to make it revolve at a high speed:

FIG. 1 illustrates diagrammatically by way of example a driving mechanism of a simple execution, constituted by the gear wheels 16 and 17. Said arrangement allows driving, through the same control wheel, two rotors 18 and 19 lying side by side as illustrated on a reduced scale in FIG. 4,

FIG. 2 shows in sectional view a further example of the driving means operating along the rotor axis through the agency of a conventional bevel gear inserted in the delivery pipe. In principle, the casing 11 is positioned across the seafaring vehicle 20 which it is to propel.

My improved propeller operates as follows: the engine drives the rotor through the gear wheel 16 at a speed of 4,000 to 5,000 rpm, said speed depending obviously on the size of the propeller and on the diameter of the rotor.

The direction of rotation of the rotor is selected so as to ensure a suction of the water at the front and its delivery at the rear.

The sections 21 of the blades 4 and 5 located outside the cylinder 2 and inserted inside the input pipe 13 suck in the water and stir it so as to urge it into the rotor 2 where the same blades 4 and 5 continue acting on the same mass of water so as to impart to it a rotary speed equal to that of the rotor, said water being thus led to the output pipe 14.

Thus the water, as it passes inside the rotor, incorporates a large rotary kinetic energy directed tangentially with reference to the cylinder. Said water which revolves at a very high speed and moves speedily towards the rear is thus carried along, while retaining its gyratory speed and its kinetic energy, inside the pipe 14 by the sections 22 of the rotor blades 4 and 5.

During its gyratory movement, the water is directed with its complete vis viva onto the stationary blades 15 housed inside the pipe 14. Said blades, through their actual shape, behave after the manner of the blades of a conventional hydraulic turbine and straighten the stream of water so as to urge it in the direction of the arrow 23, whereby the kinetic energy of said water is transformed into a thrust P in the direction of the arrow 24.

Said thrust P is added as will be readily understood to the thrust P in the direction of the arrow 25, which is normally produced by the sections 21 of the rotor blades. The thrust P acts on the casing 1 through the agency of the cylinder 2 and of the ball thrust 9.

26 and 27 designate the location of the special packings ensuring the fluidtightness of the rotor inside the casing.

The technical interest of using practically without any loss the power produced by the engine will be readily ascertained.

Obviously, many modifications may be incorporated with the means controlling the rotor according to FIG. 5. Said controlling means including bevel pinions enclosed inside a fluidtight casing which is immersed in water and secured to the terminal stationary section of the propelling mechanism.

In FIGS. 6 to 8, the shaft 32 of the rotor 31 is coupled by any suitable conventional means such as a flange or a cardan joint 33 with a driving shaft which is not illustrated and extends axially to the front of the propeller. The rotor shaft is carried betweenthe ball thrust 34 and 35 rigid with the stationary sleeve 36 secured to the seafaring vehicle through the agency of the support 37. It should be remarked that a clearance is provided between the rotor and the sleeve, the annular space 38 thus provided between said parts allowing water to flow out.

Furthermore, other modifications may be proposed both for the terminal sections of the rotor blades at the output end of the rotor, as illustrated for instance at 39, 39a and 39b in FIGS. 6 and 8 and also for the stationary receiving blades as concerns their curvature and longitudinal shape illustrated at 40, 40a, 4022, said modifications depending on the nature of the fluid, the size of the apparatus and the conditions of use.

Lastly, the reactor-propeller according to the invention may be used inside any liquid or gasiform fluid and it is more particularly applicable to the propulsion of an aircraft.

FIGS. 9 to 12 illustrate by way of example a propeller operating in a gasiform fluid and adapted for use on any movable machine, whether an automobile, a ship or an aircraft.

FIG. 9 is a vertical axial cross-section thereof, FIG. an end view and FIG. 11 a cross-section perpendicular to its axis, FIG. 12 showing a detail.

A specially designed rotor 45 is provided of which the inner blades 46 urge the gasiform fluid into movement through its upper section 47 so as to stir said fluid and to lead it into the turbine 48, which bestows it with a considerable kinetic energy, before the fluid is projected onto an annular series of stationary righting blades 49 on which the reaction produces a thrust directed along the arrow 51, which thrust may serve a useful purpose.

FIGS. 9 to 12 illustrate clearly the general shape of the rotor and of its inner blades 46 extending over the body of the turbine, Inside the latter elementary intermediate blades 50 of a similar outline are provided for reinforcing the action of the blades 46.

FIG. 12 is a cross-section through line XII-XII of FIG. 11 showing the blades 46 and 50 at their ends entering the turbine (FIG. 9) through the passageway 48.

FIG. 11 illustrates in plan view the horizontally incurved blades adapted to rotate in the direction of the arrow 52.

FIG. 10 illustrates in end view from above the shape and curvature of the blades at the input end of the rotor, which shape is retained throughout the vertical section of said rotor.

FIG. 9 shows the righting blades 49 extending round the exhaust annulus, In said FIG. 9, 53 designates the location of the engine normally driving the rotor.

The speed of the rotor may approximate 15,000 r.p.rn. so as to bestow the fluid with a powerful kinetic energy adapted to serve for the propulsion of machines adapted to move in any horizontal or vertical direction or else if the propeller carried by a stationary member, it may serve for the propulsion of fluids in channels such as those used in wind tunnels.

What I claim is:

1. A propeller comprising a tubular rotor, open at both ends and adapted to form the seat of a stream of fluid, two diametrically opposed helical blades fitted inside the rotor and rigid therewith, the pitch of which blades increases in the direction of progression of the fluid stream, a stationary tubular casing in which the tubular rotor is revolvably carried and righting blades rigid with the inside of the casing and through which the fluid stream passing out of the rotor is constrained to flow, the reaction of the fluid stream on the righting blades increasing the propelling action of the rotor blades.

2. A propeller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the foremost sections of the first-mentioned blades project to the front of the front end of the tubular rotor.

3. A propeller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the crosssection of the first-mentioned blades shows a concavity facing the direction of rotation of the rotor, whereby the said blades act on the fluid stream centrifugally near the rotor axis and centripetally near the rotor wall.

4. A propeller as claimed in claim 1, wherein an annular space separates the rotor from the casing to provide a longitudinal passageway for a fraction of the fluid stream.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 541,480 6/1895 Gleason 170-156 1,814,175 7/1931 Miller 170176 2,320,451 6/1943 Akins 11542 3,011,561 12/1961 Wagener 170-176 3,050,007 8/1962 Rydz 170-156 X 3,071,194 1/1963 Geske l156 FOREIGN PATENTS 351,450 4/ 1922 Germany.

421,528 3/1923 Great Britain.

423,582 7/ 1947 Italy.

EVERETTE A. POWELL, JR., Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. -42; l70-176 

